Process for producing bread with extended shelf life, bread dough and bread improver composition for producing such bread

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a process for producing bread, said process being suitable for obtaining a bread having a shelf-life of at least seven days, the process comprising providing a dough based upon a flour and adding a specific enzyme mixture. The present invention further relates to a bread having a shelf-life of at least seven days and to an enzyme mixture for use in obtaining such a bread.

The present invention relates to a process for producing bread. Thepresent-invention also relates to a bread dough which can be used in theprocess according to the present invention. Further, the presentinvention relates to a bread improver composition which can be used inthe process for producing bread according to the present invention andto a bread with a long shelf-life.

During storage from the time of baking the bread to the time ofconsumption the softness of bread decreases and the organolepticproperties deteriorate so that the quality of the bread does not longermeet the standard requirements. This undesirable change in the qualityof the bread is described by the term staling. The staling process ischaracterized by an increase in the firmness and a decrease in theelasticity of the crumb of the bread. Also the organoleptic propertiesof the crust rapidly diminish upon prolonged storage of the packagedbread at ambient conditions.

In order to obtain bread with a shelf life of 3-5 days and a breadquality which meets the standard requirements, it has been proposed touse emulsifiers in the manufacturing process, such as monoglycerides orcalcium stearoyl lactylate, to improve dough strength and crumb softnessand to remedy staling. If the emulsifiers are omitted, however, usuallyat best bread having an average shelf life of at most 3 days can beobtained Moreover the quality of the bread without emulsifiers israpidly deteriorating upon storage. It is advantageous, however, todelete the emulsifiers, since they are considered to be chemicaladditives by the public.

Therefore there is still a great need for a bread production process oncommercial factory scale in which preferably no emulsifiers are used andyet leads to bread with a long shelf life and which bread also afterlong storage meets the standard quality requirements.

It has also been proposed to increase the levels of fat or shorteningused in the manufacture of bread so as to achieve a longer shelf life,but the amount to be used to achieve appreciable benefits is ratherhigh, which is unacceptable from a health point of view. Furthermore theuse of thickening agents to increase the shelf life of commerciallyproduced bread has been proposed, but this use leads to inferiororganoleptic quality of the bread.

Finally it has been proposed to retard the staling of bread withoutadversely affecting the required organoleptic properties by addingenzymes or enzyme mixtures during the commercial bread productionprocess. It has been reported that thus the organoleptic properties ofthe bread can be improved.

Thus, it has been proposed in EP-A-0 585 988 (Gist-Brocades NV) to use,a mixture of lipase, hemicellulase and amylase, preferably incombination with shortening, to avoid the use of emulsifiers in thebread manufacture process. In the examples given in this patent, theobtained bread is stored for 3 days in polyethylene bags at roomtemperature. Nowhere in this patent a shelf life of longer than 3 dayshas been suggested or indicated however. Only changes in crumb firmnessare indicated, but there is no indication or suggestion of theorganoleptic and further physical properties of the bread after 3 daysstorage.

Furthermore it has been proposed in WO 99-53769 (Novonordisk AS) to usea combination of an anti-staling amylase (such as maltogenicalpha-amylase (Novamyl)) to reduce the rate of crumb firming duringstorage and a phospholipase to improve the softness in the first 24hours after baking. After 2 days storage the firmness has alreadymarkedly increased. There is no suggestion or indication whether the useof the combination of the two enzymes leads to a shelf-life of the breadbeyond 7 days.

There is still a need for a process on commercial industrial scale forproducing bread having a relatively long shelf life of at least 7 daysand satisfactory organoleptic and physical properties (such as a breadwithout unacceptable decreasing crumb elasticity, softness and/orfreshness within a period of at least 7 days) and preferably withoutusing added emulsifiers and added thickening agents or increasing theamount of conventional additives (such as fats and/or sugar), above theconventionally used levels in the commercial production of bread

After extensive experiments it has now been found that a commercialprocess for producing bread can be effected by the conjoint use of acomplex enzyme mixture and one or more selected enzymes in the breaddough or a bread dough ingredient.

Accordingly the present invention relates to a process for producingbread, said process being suitable for obtaining a bread having ashelf-life of at least seven days, the process comprising providing adough based upon a flour, wherein to the dough or to a dough ingredienta complex enzyme mixture is added, said complex enzyme mixturecomprising, a maltogenic amylase, at least one other amylase, aphospholipase and a protease and at least one additional enzyme selectedfrom the group consisting of amylo-glucosidases, cellulases,glucose-oxidases, glycolipases, hemicellulases, lipases, mannases,peptidases, pentosanases, hexose oxidases, transglutaminases andxylanases.

The mixing of the dough ingredients can be done by any means known inthe art, e.g. by a straight dough method, as is often applied in Europeor a sponge and dough method, as is commonly applied in the USA. Verygood results have been achieved with a sponge and dough method. Hereinfirst part of the ingredients is mixed to form a first dough, which isknown as the sponge and thereafter the rest of the ingredients are addedto the sponge and mixed to form the final dough that is to be baked. Ithas been found that a bread baked from a dough that is prepared by sucha sponge and dough method has a particularly fine structure, a softtexture and a very well appreciated taste.

The dough can be baked under conditions known in the art. A processaccording to the invention is in principle suitable for any kind ofbread and in particular for yeast fermented bread, such as white bread.Usually the dough is based upon flour—preferably wheat flour—water,yeast and optionally additives typically used in the art.

It has been found that the present invention provides a process forproducing bread with a relatively long shelf-life, typically of from 7to 30 days, preferably 15-30 days. The shelf-life of inter alia a wheatbased bread as used herein is defined as the period during which,starting from the manufacture of the bread, the compressibility asmeasured by a Stevens texture analyser of a bread is 1100 or less,preferably 800 or less, more preferably less than 700 units, when thebread is stored under ambient conditions (20° C.). At a higher value thebread is not soft enough anymore and past its shelf-life. More detailsabout the Stevens analyser are presented in the examples. It is notedthat for a broad based upon a different cereal, e.g. a rye-based bread,the shelf-life may be defined on the basis of a different maximum valuefor the compressibility. Acceptable values for a specific kind of breadare known in the art.

It has been found that the invention allows the manufacture of a breadwith a satisfactory loaf volume. For example, a typical loaf of bread(e.g. white wheat bread) with a mass of about 700 g rises to a volume ofat least about 3200 ml at the end of the baking process. In other terms,a typical loaf of bread has a specific volume of at least 4.5.Preferably the specific volume is in the range of 5.5 to 7.5 ml/g.

Other desirable quality aspects, such as the structure (which should notbe too course, preferably fine or silky) resilience and organolepticpropertied, are usually expressed in panel scores.

Such a bread can be produced according to the invention with a doughthat is essentially free from added emulsifiers, including fromphospholipids, e.g. lecithin, and/or free from added thickening agentsand/or having no increased levels of fat.

The enzymes in the complex enzyme mixture and the selected additionalenzyme(s) are preferably of microbial origin.

Preferred examples of the amylase (other than the maltogenic amylase)are amylases of Aspergillus oryzea and of Aspergillus niger. Alsosuitable are bacterial amylase e.g., originating from Bacillusamyloliquefaciens, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus thermoproteolyticus,Bacillus stearothermophilus. A preferred bacterial amylase is amylase ofBacillus subtilis.

A preferred maltogenic amylase is maltogenic amylase of Bacillusstearothermophilus.

Suitable xylanases include fungal xylanases, such as xylanase ofAspergillus oryzae, Aspergillus awamori, Trichoderma viride. Trichodermareesei, Aspergillus foetidus, and—preferably—of Aspergillus niger.

Bacterial xylanase, e.g. of: Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, Bacilluslicheniformis and Bacillus subtillus are also suitable, of whichBacillus subtillus is preferred.

A preferred mannase is mannase of Aspergillus niger.

Suitable sources for phospholipase and other lipases include Aspergillusniger, Rhizopus oryzae, Rhizopus oryzae, Rhizopus delemar, Candida,Trichoderma reesei. Very good results have been achieved withphospholipase and optionally lipase of Aspergilus oryzea.

Examples of pentosanases are those originating from Humicola faecalisand preferably from Trichoderma reesei.

Suitable cellulases include cellulases of Trichoderma reesei,Trichoderma viride, Aspergillus oryzae and Aspergillus niger of whichAspergillus niger is preferred.

Protease (including peptidase) may for example be obtained fromTrichoderma reesei, Rhizopus oryzae or Aspergillus oryzae. A preferredsource for protease (including peptidase) is Aspergillus niger.

Glucose oxidase may for example be obtained from Penicilliumchrysogenum. A preferred source is Aspergillus niger.

Examples of amyloglucosidases are amyloglucosidases from Rhizopusoryzae, Rhizopus delemar and Aspergillus niger, of which Apergillusniger is preferred.

Some of these enzymes have in isolation been proposed as bread improvingagents, but it has been found in experiments that the combined action ofthe constituent enzymes of the complex mixture and the selectedadditional enzyme(s) is a kind of interlocking action, i.e. deletion ofa constituent enzyme of the complex mixture has a negative influence onthe combination of achieved effects, viz. extended shelf lifeconcomitant with excellent bread quality and good organoleptic andphysical properties. It has also been found that by the choice ofenzymes, the processibility of the bread can be improved. For example ithas been found that by using protease, in particular peptidase the doughhandling is improved (in particular improved rheological properties),besides a positive effect on the shelf-life.

Addition of one and preferably of more of the selected additionalenzymes to the complex enzyme mixture has been found to have a verybeneficial effect on the shelf life of the produced bread, whilstretaining the excellent bread quality.

Very good results have been achieved with a mixture comprising asadditional enzyme or enzymes at least xylanase and/or hemicellulase. Itis highly preferred to use as additional enzymes at least xylanase,mannase, glucose oxidase, cellulase and pentosanase.

Hexose oxidase, transglutaminase or a combination thereof have beenfound to have a beneficial effect in a process, dough, or enzyme mixtureaccording to the invention, for example with respect to the doughprocessing properties. It has further been found that these enzymes canbe used to obtain a bread with a highly satisfactory fine to silkystructure. These enzymes have also been found to have a positive effecton the shelf-life of a bread.

With regard to the respective amounts of the constituent enzymes of thecomplex enzyme mixture and of the selected additional enzyme(s), it isobserved that in general the enzyme manufacturers and suppliers indicatepreferred ranges to achieve optimal effects for the required food use ofthe enzyme. The complex enzyme mixture can e.g. commercially be obtainedat Innovative Baking Technology BV (IBID, Made, The Netherlands. Thetotal amount of complex enzyme mixture and selected additional enzyme(s)to be used in the process according to the present invention may vary onthe circumstances, such as the intended result and the specific activityof the various enzymes in a specific enzyme mixture. Effective andoptimal amounts of the various enzymes can be determined by routineexperiments, by the man skilled in the art e.g. on hand of the dataprovided by the supplier or on the basis of common general knowledge. Iffor example for the complex enzyme mixture and the additional enzyme(s)products of IBT are used, then generally the total amount of the complexenzyme mixture and the additional enzyme(s) is from 200 parts permillion (ppm) to 1000 ppm, preferably from 250 ppm to 400 ppm based onthe weight of the flour.

Although in the process according to the present invention fat can beadded, it is preferred to add no fat. The term “fat”, is used herein todescribe fatty substances such as fatty acids and fatty acid esters ofvegetable or animal origin that are solid at 20° C. An example of asuitable fat is lard. Fats may be added as such or in the form of ashortening, i.e. a composition comprising fat (which may be modified)and optionally additives. It is stressed that oil (typically ofvegetable or animal origin), which may be added in a typicalconcentration of up to 3 wt % based on the weight of the dough toimprove the processing of the dough, is not regarded as added fat.Suitable examples of such oils are soy bean oil, sunflower oil, rapeseed oil etc. It is has been found that addition of such oil does nottend to affect the shelf-life to a significant extent.

The fat level in a particular product may thus vary, depending upon thetype of product. In general the amount of fat in a conventional productwill be less than 20%. Good results, in terms of a long shelf-life and agood bite, have been obtained with a process according to the inventionwherein a bread is made with less than 6% fat. A process according tothe invention has been found very suitable for making a bread comprisingless than 1% fat. In fact, it has been found possible to manufacture abread with a shelf-life of at least 7 days, preferably at least 15 dayswithout adding any fat.

The present invention therefore provides a commercial process to producebread which is essentially free from added emulsifiers, thickeningagents and/or fat and which yet has an unprecedented shelf life of atleast 7 days to 30 days. By the expression “essentially free of aspecific component” (e.g. emulsifier or fat) is understood throughoutthis specification and the appended claims that addition of an extraamount of that component (e.g. emulsifier or fat) is not required beyondthe amount that is naturally present in the flour used to make thedough. It is stressed that for practical reasons in a process, a broaddough, a bread or a bread improver composition according to the presentinvention an effective amount of fat, thickening agent, and/oremulsifier may be used. Examples of suitable emulsifiers include mono-and/or diglycerides, diacetyl tartaric acid ester of mono- and/ordiglycerides and the like. However, the invention particularly andpreferably relates to a process, a broad doughy a bread and a breadimprover composition in which no emulsifiers are added.

The strong positive action of the complex enzyme mixture and theselected additional enzyme(s) in the process of manufacturing breadaccording to the present invention can be such that the shelf life ofthe bread is increased to such an extent that the general quality of thebroad is still good according to the official standards, but the flavourand/or aroma of the bread is diminishing. To remedy this, an effectiveamount of a bread flvouring agent or a bread flavour enhancing agent maybe added to the dough or to a dough ingredient. Also bread flavouringagent precursors may be used or a mixture of bread flavouring agentsand/or bread flavour enhancing agents and/or their respectiveprecursors. Suitable examples of such agents include furanones (e.g.4,5-Dimethyl-3-hydroxy-2,5-dihydrofuran-2-one), alcohols andiso-alcohols, lactones, (e.g. gamma-nonalacton), phenolic esters, estersof fatty acids, in particular esters of lower fatty acids (e.g. havingup to eight carbon atoms, preferably four to eight carbon atoms),diacetyl, 4-cis-heptanal and its precursors and small amounts ofnitrogen and sulphur containing compounds. A preferred mixture is thebread flavouring agent Dorome 25™ (ex Innovating Food Technology BV(IFT), Made, The Netherlands). If Dorome 25 is used, effective amountsof this bread flavouring agent are from 100 ppm to 2000 ppm, preferablyfrom 200 ppm to 500 ppm, based on the weight of the flour.

Bread flavouring agents that may be used are for example those describedin J. Agric. Food Chem 1998, 46, 2721-2726 and in Cereal Chem.74(2):91-97 and agents known in the art.

The present invention also relates to a bread dough, which comprises acomplex enzyme mixture such as specified above.

The enzymes in the complex enzyme mixture and the selected additionalenzymes preferably are of microbial origin. With regard to therespective amounts of the constituent enzymes Of the complex enzymemixture and the total amount of the complex enzyme mixture and theselected additional enzyme(s), the same observations as made herebeforewith regard to the process of producing the bread according to thepresent invention apply

The bread dough according to the present invention generally comprises acereal meal or flour, such as wheat flour, but may also comprise othertypes of flour, such as corn flour, rye flour and the like. The doughfurther comprises water and yeast and a bread improver compositionaccording to the present invention. The dough may also comprise fat orshortening, but preferably the dough does not contain added fat (or onlysuch an amount of fat as is necessary for its mechanical manufacture),salt, sugar and other conventional dough ingredients, such as proteins,eggs, oxidants, amino acids, preservatives and the like. The dough mayalso be in frozen form.

The bread dough according to the present invention may also comprise aneffective amount of a bread flavouring agent or a bread flavourenhancing agent and/or precursors of these agents, as indicated above.

The bread dough according to the present invention is preferablyessentially free from emulsifiers. Preferably the dough is essentiallyfree from thickening agents. A highly preferred dough has no increasedlevels of fat and/or sugar, compared to conventional bread dough.

The present invention also relates to a process for producing bread inwhich a bread dough according to the present invention is formed andbaked.

The present invention further relates to a bread having a shelf-life ofat least seven days, preferably of more than 7 days. In particular thepresent invention also relates to a bread having a shelf-life of 11-30days more in particular of 15-22 days.

The shelf-life is defined herein as the period between baling of thebroad and the moment at which the crumb firmness as measured by aStevens texture analyzer reaches a value of 1100, when the bread isstored at 20° C. Preferably the bread has a crumb firmness after 7 daysof 800 or less, more preferably of 700 or less.

In particular the invention relates to a bread, essentially free ofadded emulsifiers, having a shelf-life of at least 7 days.

A bread according to the invention preferably comprises an effectiveamount of a bread flavouring agent or a bread flavour enhancing agent,more preferably such as indicated above.

Preferably a bread according to the invention is does not contain addedfat or added thickening agent.

The bread is preferably wheat based and may contain other cereals, e.g.rye and/or corn, and is usually a yeast fermented bread:. A preferredbread according to the invention is a wheat based white bread. The breadmay have any form. Particular good results have been obtained withbuns,(rolls) and loaves, of which loaves are preferred.

A bread according to the invention has been found to have a satisfactorystructure and volume. Preferably the specific volume is in the range of5.5 . to 7.5 ml/g.

The present invention also relates to a bread improver composition whichcomprises a complex enzyme mixture comprising a maltogenic amylase, atleast one other amylase, a phospholipase, a protease, preferably apeptidase, and at least one additional enzyme selected from the groupconsisting of amylo-glucosidases, cellulases, glucose-oxidases,glycolipases, hemicellulases, lipases, mannases, pentosanases,proteases—other than peptidases—and xylanases. The respective amounts ofthe constituent enzymes of the complex enzyme mixture and of theselected additional enzyme(s), as well as the total amount of enzymesare the same as those in the process according to the present inventionfor producing bread and for the bread dough according to the presentinvention.

A bread improver composition according to the invention may furthercomprise a carrier, i.e. an component that has no substantial enzymeactivity. Suitable carriers are known in the art and include inter aliasugar, flour, starch, dry milk constituents and salts.

The enzymes in the complex enzyme mixture and the selected additionalenzymes of the bread improver composition preferably are of microbialorigin.

The bread improver composition may also comprise an effective amount ofa bread flavouring agent or a bread flavour enhancing agent or aprecursor of these agents, such as those indicated above, e.g. inamounts as indicated above.

The bread improver composition according to the present inventionpreferably is in the form of a powder and its particle size distributionpreferably is such that more than 80% by weight has a particle size offrom 50 to 500 micrometer. The bread improver composition in powder formmay be prepared by manners known per se, such as spraying the enzymesonto an innocuous carrier material.

The bread improver composition may also comprise other conventionaldough ingredients, such as proteins, amino acids, salt, preservatives,oxidants, pH-control agents, antimycotic agents and mixtures thereof.

The present invention is now further demonstrated by the followingexamples.

EXAMPLES 1-5

For the manufacture of bread a so-called American Sponge & Dough methodwas used according to recipe and processing which is specified below.TABLE 1 USA Sponge & dough_(—) Sponge Dough Recipe ingredients wt % wt %USA flour 58 42 Water 35 23 Fermipan Brown 2 1 Ammonium sulphate 0.02 —Ascorbic acid 0.0025 — Salt — 2 HFCS (73% solids, 85% — 15 fructose) Oil— 3 Rotox — 0.05 Enzyme mix (varying — varying composition) (see below)

The sponge was prepared by mixing the above identified components in thespecified proportions. The resultant sponge was slowly mixed for 3 minfast for 2 min in a Spiral mixer at a temperature of 24° C.

Thereafter additional ingredients were added to the sponge to obtain adough as specified in the table above. The dough was mixed at high speedin a Morton-Z-blade mixer at a temperature of 26° C.

The dough was put through a short extruder (meat mill).

700 g. of dough was rounded up softly by hand and then proofed for 6min. at room temperature. The dough was then moulded with a “Mono”(Walls; 5 Pressure belt; 8 Conductors; 11).

The moulded dough was then subject to a final proofing of 70 min. at 40°C. and 80% R.H, whereafter it was baked for 21 min in an oven having atop temperature of 200° C. and a floor temperature of 250° C.

After cooling to room temperature the loaves were stored in polyethylenebags at room temperature.

A shock test was carried out with a modified JEL shaking machine (ex J.Engelsman, Ludwigshafen, Germany) for 5 seconds. The results of theshock test (proofing tolerance) were assessed by an expert panel usingthe following rating: 1=very bad, 2=bad, 3=very moderate, 4=moderate,5=hardly acceptable, 6=acceptable, 7=fair, 8=good, 9=very good and10=excellent.

The softness of the bread was assessed by an expert panel, using thesame rating as for the proofing tolerance.

The crumb firmness (or softness) was measured using a modified StevensTexture Analyser. Two slices of 2 cm thickness from the centre of eachloaf were tested by means of the texture analyser using a probe of 1.5inch diameter, a compression depth of 5 mm (25%) and at a rate ofcompression of 0.5 mm/sec.

In all Examples 1-5, 200 ppm of a complex enzyme mixture (indicated asCapzyme 252™, IBT, Made, The Netherlands) was used, providing 40 ppmmaltogenic alpha-amylase, 10 ppm fungal amylase, 45 ppm phospholipase,30 ppm protease (peptidase) and 75 ppm carrier (flour) to the dough.

In Example 2 additionally 100 ppm IBT Softase B™ (IBT) were used Thisproduct essentially consisted of 30 wt % bacterial amylase and 70 wt %carrier.

In Example 3 additionally 100 ppm IBT Softase B Super™; (IBT) wereadded, which consisted of 30 wt % bacterial amylase, 30 wt % xylanaseand 40 wt % carrier.

In Example 4 additionally 100 ppm of IBT Doughase™ (ex IBT) were used,which product consisted of 30 wt % xylanase and 70 wt % carrier.

In Example 5 additionally 10 ppm xylanase, 20 ppm bacterial amylase, 5ppm mannase, 20 ppm glucose oxidase, 10 ppm cellulase, 5 ppm pentosanaseand 80 ppm carrier (provided as 150 ppm of a mixture of IBT Softase XXL(Trade Mark); ex IBT, Made, The Netherlands) were used.

The results are summarized in the Table 2. From these results it isclear that in selecting more than one additional enzyme according to thepresent invention the results are accordingly better.

EXAMPLES 6-8

Bread was prepared as described in Example 1, but now a bread flavouringagent (Dorome 25™, ex IFT) was added in amounts of 200 ppm, 600 ppm and1200 ppm respectively. Also the aroma development of the bread uponstorage in polyethylene bags at room temperature was assessed by anexpert panel, using the following rating:

2=strong stale aroma, 3=strong off taste/stale 4=off taste/stale, 5=offtaste/spongy aroma, 6=spongy aroma, 7=lightly stale or slightly spongyaroma 8=rather good like fresh bread and 9=aroma like fresh bread (=3days)

The physical properties of the bread upon storage were as reported forexample 5, whereas the development of the type of aroma and itsassessment by the expert panel are summarized in Table 3.

EXAMPLES 9-12

Breads were baked as described for Example 1, but with different enzymemixes. For each of the breads an enzyme mix comprising only three out ofthe four enzymes of the IBT-base of Example 1 (maltogenic alpha-amylase,fungal amylase, phospholipase and protease) was used. Table 4 shows theresults for each different combination of enzymes. TABLE 2 Baking testswith examples 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4Example 5 Capzyme 252 200 ppm 200 ppm 200 ppm 200 ppm 200 ppm IBTSoftase B 100 ppm IBT Softase super 100 ppm IBT Doughase X 100 ppm IBTSoftase XXL 150 ppm Dough handling good good good good very good (byexpert panel) Proofing tolerance# 6  6  8 8 10 (with shock test) Loafvolume in ml 3400 cc 3450 cc 3850 cc 3800 cc 3950 cc Texture irregularirregular regular regular regular open coarse open fine silky/fineSoftness assesment by panel day 3 8   9**   10** 9 10 day 7 5   7**  8 610 day 11 3  6  7 4 9 day 16 1  4  5 2 8 day 22 1  3  4 1 8 day 30 1  3 4 1 7 **poor resilience Crumb firmness (g) by texture analyzer day 3420 370 340 365 310 day 7 760 580 420 660 320 day 11 1190 670 580 970380 day 16 1980 1010  810 1300 440 day 22 2050 1190  990 1970 510 day 302030 1270  990 2050 620 *crumb is brakingExample 1 = Capzyme 252containing maltogenic amylase, fungal amylase,(phospho) lipase, proteaseExample 2 = Capzyme 252 + IBT Softase B. containing bacterial amylaseExample 3 = Capzyme 252 + IBT Softase B super containing bacterialamylase + xylanaseExample 4 = Capzyme 252 + IBT Doughase X containing xylanaseExample 5 = Capzyme 252 + IBT Softase XXL containing xylanase, bact.Amylase, mannase, glucose oxidase, cellulase. pentosanase.

TABLE 3 Baking tests with examples 6-8 Example 5 Example 6 Example 7Example 8 Capzyme 252s 200 ppm 200 ppm 200 ppm  200 ppm IBT Softase XXL150 ppm 150 ppm 150 ppm  150 ppm IBT Dorome 25 200 ppm 600 ppm 1200 ppmAroma* day 3 propionate neutral slightly spongy strong flavour day 7propionate + “stale” rather neutral slightly spongy strong flavour aroma(fresh bread) day 11 propionate + “stale” rather neutral neutral ratherstrong aroma (fresh bread) (fresh bread) flavour day 16 “stale” aromaslightly “stale” neutral spongy aroma aroma (fresh bread) day 22 “stale”aroma slightly “stale” rather neutral spongy aroma (strong) aroma day 30“stale” aroma slightly “stale” rather neutral light spongy (strong)aroma aroma Aroma** day 3 5 8 7 4 day 7 4 9 7 4 day 11 3 9 8 5 day 16 27 8 6 day 22 2 7 8 6 day 30 2 7 8 7*description by expert panel**assessment by panelExample 5 = Capzyme 252 + IBT Softase XXLExample 6 = same as example 5 + 200 ppm Dorome 25Example 7 = same as example 5 + 600 ppm Dorome 25Example 8 = same as example 5 + 1200 ppm Dorome 25

TABLE 4 Baking tests with examples 9, 10, 11, 12 Example 1 Example 9Example 10 Example 11 Example 12 Capzyme 252 (all enzymes) 200 ppmCapzyme 252, but no amylase 200 ppm Capzyme 252, but no 200 ppmphospholipase Capzyme 252, but no protease 200 ppm (peptidase) Capzyme252, but no malto-genic 200 ppm amylase Dough handling (expert panel)good good slightly sticky bucky good Proofing tolerance# 6 6 3(rejected) 5 6 (with shock test) Loaf volume in ml 3400 rejected (2960)rejected (2840) 3200 3400 Texture irregular rejected rejected coarserather coarse open very coarse very coarse Softness assesment by paneln/a n/a day 3 8 7 5 day 7 5 4 1 day 11 3 3 1 day 16 1 1 1 day 22 1 1 1day 30 1 1 1 **poor resilience Crumb firmness (g) by texture analyzern/a n/a day 3 420 500 790 day 7 780 960 1980 day 11 1190 1350 >2200 day16 1980 1890 >2200 day 22 2050 2100 >2200 day 30 2030 2190 >2200Without amylase not acceptable: low volumeWithout maltogenic not acceptable softness propertiesWithout (phospho) lipase not acceptable: coarse crumb texture, lowvolumeWithout protease (peptidase)not acceptable: difficult to handle dough

1. A bread, essentially free of added emulsifiers, having a shelf-lifeof at least 15 days, wherein the shelf-life is defined as the periodbetween baking of the bread and the moment at which the crumb firmnessas measured by a Stevens texture analyzer reaches a value of 1100, andsaid period is at least 15 days.
 2. A bread according to claim 1,comprising an effective amount of a bread flavouring agent or a breadflavour enhancing agent.
 3. A bread according to claim 1, essentiallyfree of added fat.
 4. A bread according to claim 3, wherein the breadcontains less than 6% total fat.
 5. A bread according to claim 4,wherein the shelf-life is at least 22 days.
 6. A bread according toclaim 1, essentially free of added thickening agents.
 7. A breadaccording to claim 1, wherein the bread has a fine texture.
 8. A breadaccording to claim 7, wherein the bread has a specific volume of atleast about 5.5.
 9. A bread according to claim 1, wherein the shelf-lifeis up to 30 days.